Panetta Warns on Across-the-Board Pentagon Cuts

The day after the passage of the debt-reduction deal, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta sent a message to the Pentagon’s rank-and-file–and to Congress. Failure to enact further deficit-reduction measures, he said, might trigger “dangerous, across-the-board” cuts to defense.

The first stage of budget cuts under the “Budget Control Act of 2011” calls for $350 billion in cuts to defense spending over 10 years. But if lawmakers fail to find an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit savings, the law calls for a process called “sequestration” that would result in automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion–half of which would fall on the Pentagon budget by 2013.

In his message, Mr. Panetta said that defense-spending cuts would inevitably be “part of the solution” to the nation’s fiscal crisis. But he echoed a concern raised by his predecessor, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates: That the Defense Department would be forced to make deeper cutbacks that would be driven purely by spending targets, not strategic considerations.

“I will do everything I can to ensure that further reductions in defense spending are not pursued in a hasty, ill-conceived way that would undermine the military’s ability to protect America and its vital interests around the globe,” Mr. Panetta said.

In particular, Mr. Panetta expressed worry about the automatic cuts that would result from a failure of the special congressional panel. “If that happens, it could trigger a round of dangerous across-the-board defense cuts that would do real damage to our security, our troops and their families, and our ability to protect the nation,” he said.

That scenario, Mr. Panetta added, “would be completely unacceptable.”

Mr. Panetta, who served as head of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton, didn’t provide detailed new insight into how the Pentagon plans to meet the plan’s initial, 10-year target of around $350 billion in cuts. But the Pentagon for the past several months has been conducting a comprehensive review of strategic priorities, with the aim of meeting an earlier $400 billion White House target for security spending cuts by 2023.

The outcome of that review was originally expected to be reflected in the fiscal 2013 budget submission. Defense budget analyst Jim McAleese said some cuts would likely be included in pending defense-spending legislation for fiscal 2012, which begins Oct. 1.

“People don’t realize how fast this is going to happen,” Mr. McAleese said.

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.